House of Representatives Democrats
have put forth two bills for
consideration aimed at reducing
pollution caused by beverage
containers and disposable plastic
bags widely used by grocery
stores across the nation.

The Bottle Recycling Climate
Protection Act, first introduced
in 2007, was reintroduced by
Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and
Jim Moran (D-Va.). It aims to
establish a $.05 deposit on
plastic bottles and other beverage
containers nationwide.

The 11 states with deposit laws
already on the books would be
exempt from the national legislation
for 3 years, or so long as their
recycling rates remain above
50 percent.

Though the initiative is lauded
by environmental groups like
the Container Recycling Institute,
some see the bill as just another
tax, while others see it as
unnecessary, citing that water
bottles are already a highly
recycled item as measured by
curbside recycling.

Also introduced by Moran was
the Plastic Bag Reduction Act
of 2009. It would establish
a $.05 tax per single-use bag
effective January 1, 2010. The
tax would increase to $.25 per
bag in 2015. The tax would cover
bags from grocery, dry-cleaning,
take-out food, and other single
use applications.

The plastic bag tax would be
used to fund multiple programs.
Retailers implementing the program
would receive a one cent tax
credit. The Land and Water Conservation
Fund would receive a one-cent
allocation for pollution control,
and another cent would be distributed
to state and local trash reduction
programs. The final two cents
would be used to pay down the
national debt.